Citigroup (C) earned $3.3 billion, or $1.09 per share, in the second quarter, up 24% from one year ago and 11% higher than the previous quarter. Revenue for the three months ended June 30 fell 1% from the year before to $16.3 billion, largely due to the legacy issues in the Citi Holdings portfolio, which the bank continues to scale down. Total assets for Citi Holdings dropped 34% from a year earlier to $308 billion and are now more than $500 billion lower than the peak of 2008. The bank’s second-quarter allowance for loan losses increased $2 billion from a year ago to $34.4 billion, however the amount of loans in 90-day delinquency on its balance sheet dropped 46% from one year ago. “Citi achieved another solid quarter of operating performance as we continue to execute our strategy,” CEO Vikram Pandit said. “We produced growth in both loans and deposits in Citicorp, reduced assets in Citi Holdings, continued to invest in our core businesses and improved our financial strength.” Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach said he expects the bank to begin returning capital to shareholders next year and end 2012 year at the 8% to 9% Tier 1 common capital ratio required under Basel III. Citi’s Tier 1 common ratio stood at 11.6% in the second quarter, up somewhat from a year ago. “Although the near-term macroeconomic outlook is uneven, Citi is consistently profitable, and we remain focused on producing responsible growth by serving our clients,” Pandit said. Write to Jon Prior. Follow him on Twitter @JonAPrior.